The Chance (Thunder Point #4)(73)

“Please don’t lock me away,” he said. “Please.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Dad. Let’s take it one day at a time.”

“My mother—I had to put her in a facility for dementia patients. I know it was years ago and they’ve come a long way since then, but every time I left her after a visit she cried. She begged me to take her home. I’ve lived in my house for thirty-five years. Please don’t...”

She stood up from the table. “Dad, we’re not going to lock you away. Right now I’m going to make you a couple of eggs and toast. Then we’ll call Pax—you should talk to him, reassure him you’re all right. Then we’ll head to North Bend for some shopping. I’ll give you a tour of the area. This is a beautiful place.” She patted his hand. “I’ll be with you, don’t worry.”

“Did we make up?” he asked.

“We’re all made up,” she said.

“Thank God,” he said. “I was afraid that wouldn’t happen and it would be too late.”

“It’s not too late,” she assured him.

* * *

Al was finishing up a late breakfast at the diner when Scott Grant came in. He sat at the counter next to Al and said to Gina, “Can you screw up some eggs for me? I had a really long night and no breakfast.”

“Sure. Were you at the hospital?”

“I was called in in the middle of the night. There was a fight at an underage party—bunch of eighteen-, nineteen-year-old boys. I was up ordering head CTs and sewing all night.”

“That’s horrible,” Gina said. “Please tell me I didn’t know any of them.”

He smiled and shook his head. “No Thunder Point kids.”

“That’s a relief,” she said. “I’ll get you a nice big breakfast platter.”

Al turned to Scott. “Speaking of Thunder Point kids, what’s going on with the Russell kids?”

“Don’t you see Justin almost every day?”

“I do. I see him at work some evenings. But I can tell he doesn’t really want to talk about it.”

“It’s not that so much,” Scott said. “Justin’s been trying to stay invisible for the past couple of years. He’s been concentrating on holding that family together for as long as possible so he doesn’t lose his brothers. He thought if he just made it to eighteen he would be left in charge, but I always warned him it wasn’t quite as simple as being old enough. Even if he was eighteen or even nineteen, social services might not think of him as the best option. There are special circumstances for family foster care, but all that’s irrelevant—he’s still just seventeen.”

“What is required?” Al asked.

“It’s pretty simple. For nonfamily members, over twenty-one, self-supporting, no criminal record, pretty standard stuff.”

“Hmm,” he said, thinking. “So what’s going on with Mrs. Russell?”

“Her condition is greatly improved and a bed is opening up for her in a facility near Coos Bay. I could send her home for a few days but I’m holding off on doing that. I don’t know how many times those boys can shift gears. She really can’t live at home anymore. Her symptoms are worsening and soon she’ll probably require a feeding tube because swallowing is difficult for her. If we get her good care she’ll have decent quality of life. She could live another few months or years. I’m afraid to say, no one knows.”

“Well, those boys are on their own now,” Al pointed out.

“Not exactly,” Scott said, lifting his coffee cup. “I’m responsible for them. I check on them a couple of times a day, but that won’t work in the long term. Their case worker knows I’m holding off their placement while she searches for something close. Something here in town. Something where at least the two younger boys can be together. I don’t think the chances of that are very good.”

Al thought about this for a moment, sipping his coffee. “You knew Justin dropped out of school?”

Scott nodded just as he accepted his breakfast plate. Gina refilled both their coffees. “He thought he had to,” he said. “He had to take care of his mother until he could hand her off to his brothers. Hopefully he’ll go back....”

“He won’t go back,” Al said. “He’s past that now. What about that GED?”

Between bites of eggs, Scott said, “Maybe with his mother taken care of he’ll have time for that. Justin was a good student but there were only so many hours in the day. Maybe he wasn’t at the top of his class, but he did just fine for a kid with so much on his plate. He could’ve gotten into community college, no problem. He’s a sharp kid. And he cares about his family.”

“What about their father, man?” Al asked. “Anyone know where he is? Because shouldn’t he be stepping in now?”

“DHS knows his name and his last known location. But knowing and having his cooperation are two different things.”

“Now wait—isn’t it against the law to abandon your children?”

“Depends,” Scott said. “He and their mother divorced and he gave her custody. They can go after him for back child support but they can’t turn him into a father.”